The Consolidated Financial Statements for the first quarter of 2016 include the consolidated income statements, the consolidated statements of comprehensive income, the consolidated statements of financial position and much more.

Overview of Sales, Earnings and Financial Position

First quarter of 2016

Sales of the Bayer Group increased by 3.2% to €11,941 million in the first quarter of 2016 after adjusting for currency and portfolio changes (Fx & portfolio adj.; reported: +0.5%). Germany accounted for €1,367 million of this figure.

Group EBITDA before special items improved by a substantial 15.7% to €3,404 million. All segments contributed to this increase. The good development of business was partly offset by higher expenditures for research and development at Pharmaceuticals and Crop Science and by negative currency effects of about €60 million.

At Pharmaceuticals, EBITDA before special items improved by 16.2% to €1,261 million, due mainly to the very good development of our recently launched products. EBITDA before special items rose by 3.8% to €383 million at Consumer Health. At Crop Science, EBITDA before special items increased by 6.3% to €1,106 million and at Animal Health by 19.6% to €122 million. Taken together, EBITDA before special items of the Life Science businesses amounted to €2,900 million (+15.2%). Covestro also registered a significant 18.9% increase in EBITDA before special items to €504 million. Earnings of the reconciliation rose considerably year on year, largely on account of lower expenses for long-term stock-based compensation.

EBIT of the Bayer Group climbed significantly, increasing by 20.1% to €2,335 million (Q1 2015: €1,944 million) after special charges of €272 million (Q1 2015: €244 million). These mainly comprised impairment losses on intangible assets of €231 million, €18 million for the integration of acquired businesses and €16 million for efficiency improvement measures.

After a financial result of minus €315 million (Q1 2015: minus €274 million), income before income taxes was €2,020 million (Q1 2015: €1,670 million). After income tax expense of €478 million (Q1 2015: €375 million), income from discontinued operations after income taxes and noncontrolling interest, net income in the first quarter of 2016 came to €1,511 million (Q1 2015: €1,334 million). Earnings per share were €1.83 (Q1 2015: €1.62). Core earnings per share for continuing operations advanced by 13.9% to €2.37 (Q1 2015: €2.08).

Gross cash flow from continuing operations in the first quarter of 2016 advanced by 28.1% to €2,576 million (Q1 2015: €2,011 million), due mainly to the expansion of business. Net cash flow (total) was diminished by an increase in cash tied up in working capital but rose by 82.6% to €1,322 million (Q1 2015: €724 million), mainly because of the inflow from the divestiture of the Diabetes Care business. We paid income taxes of €549 million in the first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2015: €444 million).

Net financial debt declined by €1.1 billion, from €17.4 billion on December 31, 2015, to €16.3 billion on March 31, 2016. The net defined benefit liability for post-employment benefits – the difference between benefit obligations and plan assets – increased from €10.8 billion to €13.3 billion over the same period, due especially to a decline in long-term capital market interest rates for high-quality corporate bonds in Germany and the United States.

The number of people employed by the Bayer Group declined by 1.3% from 117,987 on March 31, 2015, to 116,482 on March 31, 2016. Personnel expenses decreased by 1.5% in the same period, from €2,880 million to €2,838 million.